What Do Students Learn From Picking Up Trash?

It amazes me that educators are attempting to make excuses by pointing the finger at parents and students (Letters, June 19). Students suffer when educators disrespect them and bolster their own egos. I find it ironic that the same educators who can strike to acquire higher pay cannot make reasonable efforts to find appropriate means for successfully improving and enhancing our educational system. Well, the buck stops here! I am fighting your injustice and supporting the well-being of our future, the students.

Educators do not pick up trash because it would lessen their effectiveness and self-esteem. Further, trash pickup is not a specific requirement of their job function. Students go to school to get an education. What do they learn from picking up trash? Perhaps they develop a slave mentality, low self-esteem, lack of support and lack of self-confidence.

Maybe the educators should view this problem from a historical perspective. Have you forgotten your past because your middle-class values promise you a future? Well, only today is promised to you. Tomorrow you may not be an educator but instead a janitor.

W. PHILLIP HIGGINS

The writer is an attorney who represents Students for Better Education.